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ca. 1957 Vega SE-400

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Serial #: 10790, white Boston label

Body size at lower bout: 17" Scale length: 25" Nut Width: 1 10/16" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .83/1.01

Materials: Arched fine grained spruce laminate soundboard; arched flame maple laminate back and sides; solid Honduras mahogany neck; solid rosewood fingerboard; bound fingerboard; triple-bound top.

Hardware: Vintage style hardware includes nickel Kluson Deluxe style tuners, harp style nickel trapeze tailpiece, adjustable rosewood bridge, bound tortoise pickguard with matching pickup cover. Original Vega Duo-Tron single coil pickup rewound by Seymour Duncan, with volume and tone controls, and 1/4" endpin jack.

Notes: Founded in Boston in 1881, The Vega Company was unique among fine instrument builders. With a little over half of their production devoted to fretted instruments, particularly their renowned banjos, they also produced a celebrated line of brass horns, one of which was played by Miles Davis himself. By 1933, the firm had branched into archtop guitars, becoming a leading maker of fine carved instruments.

Vega's first cutaway guitars debuted around 1949, and this guitar is a rare example of one of their top-line models, with a full depth 17" body, a suspended fingerboard, adjustable trussrod, and a sleek, contemporary neck profile. Built circa 1957, this example shows an extravagantly figured tiger maple back, arched spruce soundboard, and a solid Honduras mahogany neck.

Impeccably restored with a true vintage style nitro lacquer finish, the guitar retains its original floating Duo-Tron single coil pickup, expertly rewound by Seymour Duncan, and housed in a custom tortoise shell cover, matching its bound pickguard. Free of cracks, pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, the guitar is fitted with period correct hardware, including Kluson Deluxe style tuners and a handsome harp design tailpiece.

With smooth low action over fresh pro fretwork, the guitar plays effortlessly with excellent neck angle, bridge height and a high precision setup. All binding is original and tight to the body, and the intensely flamed laminate body provides superior feedback rejection, and greater resistance to fluctuations in temperature and humidity. The 25" Johnny Smith scale makes for faster solos and smoother stretch chords, and the single coil pickup offers enhanced clarity, detail, and fidelity to the acoustic voice.

One of the rarest American archtops, this gleaming instrument is an outstanding value in a true hand built jazz box from the classic bop era. One only: call now.

Setup: Trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation strobe tuned; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridgewheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished, electronics tested.

This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel roundwound strings. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.

Case: Deluxe black plush lined hardshell case.

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